Page 170 - Florida Pest Control Examinations

CONSTRUCTION DEFINITIONS/FUNCTIONS (con’t)

16. Girder: A beam, especially a long heavy one, which supports the floor joists.

17. Grade: The level, slope, or elevation of the ground around a building.

18. Grout: Material, usually mortar, used in filling crevices in masonry.

19. Header: A double wood member placed perpendicular to floor joists, rafters, ceiling
joists, or wall studs, for the purpose of framing an opening in a floor, ceiling, roof, or wall.

20. Joist: One of a series of parallel framing members used to support floor and ceiling
loads. The ends of joists are usually supported by bearing walls or girders.

21. Lath: Material attached to the building frame as a plaster base.

22. Pier: A wood, masonry or metal post which gives support to a building, usually located
in the crawl space.

23. Top plate or Wall plate: The top horizontal framing member of a wall, setting atop the
studs, on which the rafters rest. If the plate is composed of two 2”x 4”s it is called a “dou-
ble top plate”.

24. Sole plate or bottom plate: The bottom horizontal framing member of a wall.

25. Mud sill: The lowest frame member of a structure, resting on the
foundation wall and supporting the floor joists, or the wall studs in the case of slab con-
struction.

26. Box sill: An L-shaped sill, normally consisting of two 2”x 8”s, one resting flat on top of
the foundation wall immediately under the floor joists, and the other nailed at right angles to
the one resting on the foundation wall so that it forms two sides of a box.

27. Door sill or window sill: The frame member forming the lower part of the opening for a
door or window.

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